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*3 days later…*
"This is the place?"
"The one and only Alrose Family Mansion."
It took every single courage for me to get here. My parent's family mansion. Located in Amaia Hills Subdivision, This wide luxury mansion is where I was raised in my childhood and where mom's family lived while she was young.
Serra and I were waiting for the rest of our friends to show up.
"Why didn't you stay here longer? I thought this was what every rich kid would want..." While I agree with her to an extent, It's a hassle commuting here to Emerald Houston, plus it wasn't my choice to be taken care of by Vance. In the end, it was all worth it because I was able to experience a fine high school.
"If I were to have stayed here, then meeting Syrra or the rest of you wouldn't be possible…" I was disatisfied by the thought of it. I will be alone during the entire period of my high school. While there's Jessie, I can no longer think of good times with her after all that has happened in the stadium.
"It's probably expensive to live in a place like this." And it is…
"But there's a lot of inheritance money being passed down. We only used it when we really needed it. Luckily, my parents and grandparents were hardworking people. We didn't need to use it." We kept it in a wall safe to prevent it from being stolen.
Seeing the mansion again brings back memories, but then of course I'm seeing my stepmom. I haven't heard from or seen her for months.
Stepdad knows they are tagging along, I honestly don't mind.
At the end of the day, she is still my stepmom and I still have to treat her as my mother, but I wonder if she still sees me as her son.
Her behavior is showing that she doesn't want me to be involved with her anymore. That's to be expected for someone who got falsely accused… But an apology would be enough, no? I'd appreciate that…
"Renn."
I turned to notice Vance and his best friend. Serra saw the best friend and slightly hid behind me while holding my shoulder.
Side note: His friend seemed to be good-looking. He is in glasses, blue polo, and black slacks. Like Vance, he is pulling a duffel bag. Must be full of clothes.
Makes you wonder where his girlfriend is.
"Well, to think I would meet the one and only son bearing the Alrose name in the family. It's an honor." He bowed.
"No need for formalities, sir… It's nice meeting you for the first time." I am not the kind of person that deserves to be formally welcomed on a casual day…
Then again, I am wearing a green polo and brown shorts, so… What am I even saying…
"Sir feels too much, Sir Alrose. Call me Carlos. Pleasure to meet your acquaintance." He introduced himself. Carlos, huh? Interesting guy.
"Renn Alrose. The pleasure is mine." I bowed to him to show respect.
"You're lucky to have him, Vance. I remember when the news popped up all of a sudden to dismiss him for good. It was quite a tragedy." Carlos strongly patted Vance's shoulder.
"Indeed. Like the ex-friend of ours, except he was guilty of it. Luckily for Renn to be falsely accused but it did damage him." I agreed with a sigh. Who'd recover when you're expelled from life itself?
You can't, so I'm VERY lucky.
"Couldn't forgive him when he admitted it, he basically set them up for such a heinous act. I knew he was desperate but I never knew he was THAT desperate." He was furious, complaining about their ex-friend. So it turned out he was uncontrollably needy.
That's messed up to the nth degree. Depends on how you want to put it.
Carlos also noticed Serra, who was very cautious meeting with new people. Her distrust for others really shows. I don't blame her, it's the way she was raised.
"Ah, you are Renn's friend! Don't worry, we won't hurt you." Carlos reassured and she slowly walked beside me and slowly bowed.
"Serra…" That was all she said. She was afraid. Carlos waved at her.
"You're Serra? Nice to meet you, Serra. Anyway, I was expecting your parents and your sister to be out here as well. Are they taking a while?" He was curious about meeting the rest of the family.
"They said they are renting the van as we speak. They are looking for a van with good mileage, you know how terrible their mileage can get in the long run." I sighed, disappointed of knowing that fact. Vance said it, not me.
"Ah, right. I'll just wait here and wait for it to arrive."
"Arrive? You mean Cherry is not here?"
We all were surprised to see a girl walking towards us. Serra gripped on my shoulder tight, but I gently patted her arm to know that it was okay. She then turned to me and slapped my own hand off her arm, disatisfied at what I was doing.
I smiled, slightly scared of her slightly agitated expression.
"Allison, was it? Cherry told me about you." Vance introduced Allison.
She appeared young, also in glasses. Wearing a violet blouse and skirt. She is also pulling a duffel bag and holding a plain brown notebook.
"Are you the kind of person who writes journals?" I asked her and pointed at her notebook.
"Not everyone holding a notebook is writing a journal, but I can't deny that. And you're Mr. Alrose, so I've heard. Cherry told me amazing things about you, it's nice that you fit the descriptions she told me." I wonder what Cherry has been telling this girl.
"Allison…" Allison turned to Serra, who said her name.
"Oh, is this your friend? Hello there…" She smiled at Serra, who quickly looked away upon being noticed.
"Awww~ She's a shy one… Cute~" Allison found Serra adorable. I don't deny that.
"Serra's not used to new people… She can get nervous."
"Renn! We're here!"
And they arrived. Lisa and Syrra arrived.
"I was surprised when you invited us here! Luckily we prepared bags for this very trip as you told us!" Lisa happily exclaimed. Both Syrra and Lisa are carrying big bags with them. They are both very excited.
"Great! Now we need to wait for-"
*BEEP! BEEP!*
I turned to a van as it stopped at the front of the mansion. The door opened and there was…
"BROTHER!!!"
Cherry!
She quickly rushed to me for a hug. I hugged her as we spun happily.
"It's been months! How are you?!" She was very happy to see me back to normal again.
"I'm fine, I went all out for my remedials and I'll enjoy this trip with you as a family!" I smiled at her as I let her go. I really missed this little ball of sunshine.
And I also saw my stepmother on the front passenger side of the car, but she didn't bother to look at me.
She really has made up her mind to not even think about me anymore…
"Everyone! Let's go in!" Cherry instructed everyone to go in.
Vance and Carlos sat beside one another. Same goes with Cherry and Allison. Syrra and Lisa sat beside one another, and Serra and I sat at the back.
If you're wondering where Fey is, well…
"Gomen… (Sorry…) As much as I wanted to have fun and go with you, I'm busy…"
That's the text I received from her when I invited her out with us. I don't want to disturb her being busy, so I'll leave her alone for now.
We both relaxed as we watched them have fun and got to know one another while we were on the road.
Serra and I are just watching them silently at the back.
After a while, my phone vibrated and I opened it.
Se: "Seeing people communicate like that... How can I talk like that again..." :|
It's from Serra?
I looked at her and she was staring at her phone. She was probably expecting a reply from me.
Re: "Why don't you try and talk to them? Maybe you'll get used to it again."
Se: "I don't know... It's hard to get confident talking along with them... By the way, I have some things to ask you."
She's shy to join them, but is curious enough to ask me something.
Re: "I'm all eyes. What do you want to ask?"
Se: "Did anything happen to your family during the past 3 months? Why is your stepmother acting like she hated you?"
Oh… She was curious about her.
Re: "Well, everything was still fine… My stepdad is fine and we made up. My step-siblings are still okay with me, but my stepmom… She doesn't call me to check how I am doing. Maybe she still hasn't thought of forgiving me even after all this doubt was cleared."
I sighed... I just really wish I could ask her what's wrong…
Se: "Well, maybe you two can find time to talk." :)
Yeah… I sure hope so, Serra. I'm worried about our current relationship right now... It's going downhil...
"By the way, wanna play our usual game?" I didn't want to bore her so…
"1v1. Snipers only." Damn, she's serious.
We played our usual MOBA game together while we were still on the road.
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*1 hour later…*
We arrived at an art museum. It was the last place I expected we were going to when dad told me the destinations.
"You all can leave your bags, we don't need them yet. It'll be for our next destination." My stepdad advised and everyone went down. We all went to the museum. Lisa and Syrra followed the two of us.
"Look at these works of art… I only encountered this in art class, but I never expected to encounter them personally…" Lisa examined the art she's seeing, amazed by every single one.
"It's all because of Renn's father. To think we could finally express how each and every one looked. Let's take a look at each one!" Syrra and Lisa then happily left to explore the various works of art.
"Serra… Are you into art?" I asked as we went on our way and looked into a painting
"I have… Been drawing and painting during my free time. It's a favorite hobby of mine, and I found an artstyle to follow." Oh, she can do arts? Interesting. That's a pleasant surprise.
"That's amazing. I know how to draw, but I'm not creative enough to draw meaning in my drawings…" I was embarrassed, scratching the side of my head. My drawings are mostly a miss. Cherry would draw an improved version of it whenever she sees me draw.
I remember her saying: "You're not an artist! Let me do it for you, brother!" every time…
"Every work of art has its meaning, even the worst ones. You kept thinking negatively about your drawing, that's why you never found any meaning behind it. Like this abstract painting for example." I looked at the painting.
I looked at how it looked. It felt like paint just randomly got splattered on the wall.
"Serra… It doesn't look pleasing to me…" I responded. She sighed in disappointment at my response.
"Use your emotions, muppet. Looking at this image, I sense a feeling of dread looking in this painting…" There she goes again with the "muppet" calling... I was slightly getting used to it from the way I'm slightly smiling while getting attacked.
Is this what they call the "friendly insults"?
"When are you going to keep insulting my existence..." I felt devastated while still retaining my smile.
"While you still exist. Let's try again. Look at the painting beside it." I took a deep breath to move on from her savage nature and looked at the painting next to it.
It's a painting of a very bright night sky.
"(Emotions… Huh…)" I try to look into the meaning behind the art and I felt…
Peace… Harmony… As if I feel comfort looking up into the night sky and the two couples add to the feeling of being intertwined and alive on this planet.
Huh… More than what's on the surface… I think I got a newfound respect for art.
"So… How are you feeling?" Serra asked while I was smiling at the art piece, almost in tears.
"Like a million bucks, I guess. Thank you." I turned to Serra with a pleasant smile.
"I've taught the student teacher… I sure hope you can use this to get better at drawing. You'll do better. I believe in your creativity, loser." She has indeed taught the student teacher. Serra is something else today, I can't help but laugh a little.
"Heh… You're right. Let's look at more-"
"There you are!"
We turn to Cherry and Allison.
"We managed to find the illusion art section! Take photos with us!" Allison led the way and we followed her.
The art there was all about perspective and illusions. It's a perfect place to act like you are one with the art and take a picture.
"Sit over here, Renn!" I turned to Vance, Carlos, and Lisa sitting down. Lisa was gesturing to me to sit down with her.
I looked at Serra and she immediately shook her head as if I knew I was going to ask her to join.
She's not the type for photos, I understand.
I went to sit down beside Lisa. Syrra was the one holding the camera.
"Act like you're enjoying the view over there! Smile!" We all acted naturally and Syrra took the photo.
We all took a look and we all agreed on one thing:
"Wallpaper worthy."
I looked around and I saw Serra standing on a spot. I went to her and she noticed me. She gave me her phone and gestured to me to take a solo photo of her.
So she just prefers to take solo pics… I thought she's not the type for photos…
"Let me find the right spot to take it…" I walked to a spot where the photo would be perfect.
Then I took it. I then looked at how it turned out.
Her back was turned but she's looking at me while standing on a lone rock in front of a waterfall. It made me speechless… I'm getting mixed emotions just from this photo alone…
"Is it weird?" I turned to her, who wanted to see the photo too. I gave her the phone.
"No. It's a work of art. Somehow I felt emotions I couldn't explain when I looked at it." The photo felt deep.
"... You know… I used to be quite photogenic with group photos with my former family… Even if they disrespected me while staying with them, I was in the family photos. Whenever my brother would ask to take a photo with me, I never said no... Starting when my little sister was born, all that changed. I was never invited to any outings again." She turned off the phone and put it in her pocket. I patted Serra's shoulder to try and comfort her, but she's swat my own hand off of her. I sighed.
"To remember the past is indeed a pain, especially all that you have been through… But now that you're with us, you can create memories that's worth your while." They say that new memories will overpower the old ones eventually. I feel happy about that philosophy.
I gotta write it down for future generations.
I looked to the painting of animals playing card games, with a card out of frame.
"Do you want to try taking a photo of me grabbing that card?" I asked while pointing at the painting.
"Sure." I gave Serra my camera and went in position to take the card from the cat. Serra then positioned herself for the spot to take a great photo and snapped.
I then took a look at the photo and I looked ridiculous, grinning with malicious intent to take the card from the cat.
"Remind me not to let you borrow anything from me." Goddamn, even after I comforted her, her savageness served no bounds… I got attacked... Critical hit to the heart...
"Hey, at least it fits what's going on in the art…" I mean, what else can you do other than get the lucky card the cat had?
"Hmm... No argument there." Serra gave back the camera to me.
But I heard a snap of a camera in front of me. I immediately looked to see stepmom but she immediately turned away and went back to picturing the rest of the family.
Had to admit, it was a little unsettling to see her like that…
After a while we were done taking pictures and talking about the creativity behind those paintings, we went back to the van and relaxed. I noticed Serra's phone was close to low battery so I charged it with the power bank I bought her while we were at the Megaplex Mall.
This time my stepmom was driving and almost everyone except me and her fell asleep.
I noticed Serra was sleeping with her body and head opposite from me. I didn't want to leave her like that with a painful neck so I slowly dragged her close to me and let her lay down on my shoulder for comfort. She was seemingly more relaxed now.
I looked at my stepmom who was just driving in silence. I really wanted to open my mouth and asked what's going on in her mind, but her expression... She looked uninterested, agitated, or both.
How awkward…
I turned my head to look at the view outside. It's currently slightly cloudy. Looking at the sky like this just brings me a sense of comfort.
Yet… It doesn't erase the awkward air between me and my stepmom… We are falling apart...
There has to be a way we can reconcile... But how...
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